Jolly Green Giant (Hardcover)

His autobiography, Jolly Green Giant, proves to be every bit as entertaining as anything he's written: it's a fund of hilarious stories (often refreshingly self-deprecating), along with a nicely wrought picture of his childhood growing up in Carshalton during the Second World War. Most of all, though, it's an evocation of the author's love of nature, communicated here with vividness and detail.

His skills have translated into books with considerable ease and such bestsellers as Blooming Bellamy, Botanic Man and Wilderness Britain have been shot through with all the qualities that distinguish his broadcasting, along with a quietly impressive marshalling of the myriad facts that make his work so authoritative.

Although one's heart drops at the subtitle to this book The Autobiography of David J Bellamy OBE, Hon FLS, An Englishman, any thoughts that this might be a breast-beating list of his accomplishments, or (worse) a burst of Little Englander jingoism, are quickly dispelled. Bellamy tells us of his very public battles with big corporations over the environment and the outspokenness that has so often got him into trouble, with only the barest hint of self-aggrandisement. But his epic struggles and odysseys, brilliantly communicated love of nature and the many fascinating portraits of the idiosyncratic and eccentric personalities he's encountered over the years make for a quite fascinating read. --Barry Forshaw

Review
The long-awaited autobiography of Britain's favourite botanist.

Familiar to us from our television screens for the last 30 years, the guru of natural history returns to public prominence with this thoroughly entertaining and absorbing memoir of life as a botanist, broadcaster and writer who has travelled all over the world in search of his beloved plants. Bellamy was born in Surrey to a respectable lower middle-class family and grew up during the Second World War. Despite the inevitable privations he seems to have had a wonderful childhood, collecting shrapnel and unexploded bombs and roaming the countryside, developing a deep love for its quiet and stillness. Possible careers included medicine and (remarkably) ballet, but in the end an academic life beckoned and he became a lecturer at Durham University before finding fame and fortune. Bellamy is clearly a natural writer, with a gift for humorous, often self-deprecating anecdotes that makes the pages turn very quickly. Especially interesting is his discussion of the various ecological causes he has championed over the years, even going to prison for them on one occasion. By the end of the book the reader feels not only a great liking for Bellamy the man but a deep admiration for the work he has done, and a realization of how much more there is still to do. (Kirkus UK)

See all Product Description

• Books > Biography > Science, Mathematics & Technology > Science
• Books > Science & Nature > Biological Sciences
• Books > Science & Nature > Environment & Ecology > Biodiversity
• Books > Science & Nature > Environment & Ecology > Ecology
• Books > Science & Nature > Popular Science
• Books > Scientific, Technical & Medical > Biology > Plant Sciences
• Books > Scientific, Technical & Medical > Environment > Applied Ecology

• Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
• I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
• I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.